BATH

Kids just love puppies and computers. And everybody likes mail.

So, Fisher-Mitchell Elementary School teacher Rosemarie Granger knew she was onto something when she discovered Owney the Traveling Dog on the Internet.

Owney was an adventurous puppy that evolved from stray to mascot of the Rail Mail Service, then part of the U.S. Postal Service, in the 1890s. Owney, in fact, became a famous world traveler by following the mail sack he used as a bed after it was loaded onto a train, stuffed full of mail.

Owney and his story have been a focus of Granger's second-grade classroom activities all year.

He has inspired the creation of a schoolwide postal service run by second-graders, and has linked, through letters, post cards and e-mail, elementary students in Bath to those in many states, including Florida, Alabama and California.

Now, the spirit of Owney is embodied in a stuffed dog that is emulating its namesake by traveling from school to school.

Since its arrival at Fisher-Mitchell on Monday, Owney has been down the playground slide, met Gov. Angus King this morning and has managed to land a part in the second grade Thanksgiving Day play to be held this afternoon.

"He's also been out on the Internet with us so that he could be reminded where he has been," said Granger. The kids absolutely love him.

Owney, a stuffed, light brown and white Boxer, has been visiting schools across the country, alphabetically by state, since the beginning of the school year. His current itinerary comprises 42 states.

He arrived in Bath, via the U.S. Postal Service, from an elementary school in Louisiana on Monday morning.

Accompanying Owney is a journal with entries from each school that he has visited, and a growing collection of state pins attached to his vest.

During his travels, Owney has experienced the snow in Idaho and Hurricane Georges in Florida. He knows the bird, flower and capital of each state he's visited, and shares his knowledge with the children he meets along the way.

"I've also read his story out loud to the class and we've illustrated it," said Granger. "We're going to put the illustrations and the book on our Web page, too."

After Owney leaves Fisher-Mitchell and continues his travels on Wednesday, Granger's students will write post cards explaining simple facts about Maine and send them off to each school on Owney's itinerary. They have, and will continue to receive, post cards from other students at schools visited by Owney .

Owney's final destination, before returning home to Ohio, is the White House, where he will meet President Clinton. Granger's students figure he'll probably retell stories of his travels and all that he has learned to Clinton's dog Buddy.

"These kids, by the end of the year, are going to know their states," said Granger. "Weíre also learning a lot about Bath because in those letters that we write, we're going to tell about Bath, too."

The Owney projects Granger has integrated into her curriculum are part of a nationwide coordination of elementary schools in 42 states.

They are based on a book Owney the Traveling Dog, written in 1977 by Lynn Hall. Teachers use his story as a launching point of projects that fulfill many aspects of the curriculum.

The text of Hall's book, which is currently out of print, has been reprinted on the Internet with permission and can be found at http://www.col.k12.me.us/fms/owney/ostory.htm.